Leganes salvage Copa del Rey draw with Sevilla goalkeeper’s mistake

Leganes and Sevilla played out a 1-1 draw during the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday.

Leganes and Sevilla played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final at the Butarque Municipal Stadium in Leganes on Wednesday.(Reuters)

Leganes boosted its chances of reaching the Copa del Rey final for the first time by salvaging a 1-1 draw against Sevilla on Wednesday, netting the equalizer after a mistake by Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico.

Sevilla opened the scoring in the first leg through Luis Muriel after a counter-attack midway through the first half at Butarque Stadium, before the hosts evened the match shortly after halftime. Rico missed the ball while trying to punch it away just in front of goal, allowing defender Dimitrios Siovas to easily find the net with a header.

The ball went high in the air after being headed by a defender inside the area, and Rico seemed to have plenty of time as it came down near the goal line. But the goalkeeper complained of a foul after apparent contact with Siovas and unsuccessfully appealed to the referee.

“I don’t know if it was a foul or if it was a mistake,” Montella said. “We have to remember that Rico also made some good saves.”